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Broom Heath 



EYES AND NO EYES 


AND OTHER STORIES 


BY 

DR. AIKEN, MRS. BARBAULD, MRS. MARCET 
AND JANE TAYLOR 


EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 


By M. V. O’SHEA 

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY 
OF WISCONSIN 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. P. BARNES 
AND C. M. HOWARD 


BOSTON, U.S.A. 

D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

1901 


THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

One Cow Received 

MAR. 19 1901 

COPrRKJMT ENTRY 

t 3 # 

CLASS CUXXc. No. 
COPY A. 



Copyright, 1900 
By D. C. Heath & Co, 


Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, in “ Over the Teacups,” 
says of the story “ Eyes and No Eyes ” : — 

“ I have never seen anything of the kind half so 
good. I advise you, if you are a child anywhere under 
forty-five, and do not yet wear glasses, to send at once 
for “ Evenings at Home,” and read that story. For 
myself I am always grateful to the writer of it for call- 
ing my attention to common things.” 



PREFACE. 


Whatever will stimulate the observing tendencies of 
the young cannot but be of value to them. “ Eyes and 
No Eyes ” does this in a delightful way. The story is 
so natural that the child is wrapped up in it, and so it 
makes a deep impress upon him. Much less could be 
accomplished by simply telling him to observe, or lec- 
turing upon the value of keeping one’s eyes open. But 
when the reader sees how much more William gets out 
of his walk than Robert, and what marvellous things 
exist everywhere if one is on the lookout for them, he is 
himself incited to examine with greater care the many 
more or less ordinary things he has neglected hereto- 
fore. William and Robert become very real individuals 
to the child, and there is no doubt which of them he 
will choose to emulate. The author relies upon the 
force of concrete example to determine the conduct of 
children, and this is certainly sound in theory and 
endorsed by experience. 

The story is told in a very agreeable style, which is 
at once attractive and affords a good model for imita- 
tion. The dialogue gives an opportunity to present 
information without its seeming dry and didactic. 


VI 


Preface. 


“ The Three Giants ” cannot be too highly com- 
mended. I find children are greatly interested in it, 
and they get a valuable lesson which they could not 
gain quite so well in any other form. The story has 
that literary touch which marks it as of permanent 
value. 

The story of “ A Curious Instrument ” will offer the 
child a good chance to try his imaginative wings, so 
to speak, and will also afford him a useful lesson. It 
cannot but be desirable for the young to begin early to 
think upon the wonderful construction of the human 
body, although they must not be carried into the detailed 
anatomy too far. The child must rather be led to see 
how marvellously efficient the various organs of his 
body are, and what they accomplish to promote his 
welfare. The object here indicated is attained very 
well in this story ; the child’s curiosity is greatly stimu- 
lated to find out what the wonderful instrument can be, 
and this leads him to appreciate the uses to which it 
may be put. In this way he gains useful knowledge 
while being pleasantly entertained. 

“Travellers’ Wonders” will excite hardly less curi- 
osity in the reader than “A Curious Instrument.” He 
marvels that any people can do as they are said to in 
the story ; and when he discovers that they dwell all 
about him, it is a revelation to him. He usually does 
not think upon these familiar topics; he takes them all 
as matters of course. But it is a good thing for him 


Preface. 


Vll 


to view them in another light once in a while; and 
there could hardly be any more effective means of 
getting him to do this than is illustrated in this selec- 
tion. Formal lessons do not get the hold upon the 
child that a dramatic story of this sort does, — one that 
sets him to solving a puzzle. There is really no exer- 
cise that so stimulates the mind of the young as some- 
thing of the puzzle character; and when the outcome 
of the puzzle is profitable, it makes a valuable method 
of teaching. 

M. V. O’SHEA. 

University of Wisconsin. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

PREFACE V 

EYES AND NO EYES; or, The Art of Seeing . . . i 

From Aiken and Barbauld’s “Evenings at Home.” 

THE THREE GIANTS 22 

By Mrs. Marcet. 

TRAVELLERS’ WONDERS 50 

From Aiken and Barbauld’s “ Evenings at Home.” 

A CURIOUS INSTRUMENT 59 

By Jane Taylor. 

NOTE 64 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Broom Heath Frontispiece 

View and Plan of Roman Camp 8 

“ It was a Large Water-rat ” 10 

The Three Giants at Work 21 

Aquafluens • . . -34 

Ventosus 41 

The Coming of Vaporifer 48 

Vaporifer at Work 49 

A Curious Instrument 58 

AND TWENTY-SIX SMALLER ONES IN THE TEXT. 

viii 



EYES AND NO EYES; 

OR, THE ART OF SEEING. 

“ Well, Robert, where have you been walking 
this afternoon ? ” said Mr. Andrews, to one of his 
pupils at the close of a holiday. 

Robert. “ I have been, sir, to Broom Heath, and 
so around by the windmill upon Camp Mount, 
and home through the meadows by the riverside.” 

Mr. a. “ Well, that’s a pleasant round.” 

Robert. “ I thought it very dull, sir; I 
scarcely met with a single person. I had rather 
by half have gone along the turnpike road.” 

Mr. a. “ Why, if seeing men and horses is your 


2 


Eyes and No Eyes. 


object, you would indeed be better entertained 
upon the high road. But did you see William ? ” 
Robert. “We set out together, but he lagged 
behind in the lane, so I walked on and left him.” 

Mr. a. “ That was a pity. He would have 
been company for you.” 

Robert. “ Oh, he is so tedious, always stop- 
ping to look at this thing and that. I had rather 
walk alone. I dare say he is not home yet.” 

Mr. a. “ Here he comes. Well, William, 
where have you been ? ” 



William. “ Oh, sir, the pleasantest walk ! I 
went all over Broom Heath, and so up to the mill 


Eyes and No Eyes. 3 

at the top of the hill, and then down among the 
green meadows by the side of the river.” 

Mr. a. “ Why, that is just the round Robert 
has been taking, and he complains of its dulness, 
and prefers the high road.” 

William. “ I wonder at that. I am sure I 
hardly took a step that did not delight me, and I 
brought home my handkerchief full of curiosities.” 

Mr. a. “ Suppose, then, you give us some 
account of what amused you so much. I fancy 
it will be as new to Robert as to me.” 

William. “ I will, sir. The lane leading to 
the heath, you know, is close and sandy, so I did 
not mind it much, but made the best of my way. 
However, I spied a curious thing enough in the 
hedge. It was an old crab-tree, out of which 
grew a great bunch of some- 
thing green, quite different 
from the tree itself. Here is 
a branch of it.” 

Mr. a. “ Ah 1 this is mistle- 
toe, a plant of great fame for 
the use made of it by the 
Druids of old in their religious 
rites and incantations. It bears 
a very slimy white berry, of which birdlime may 
be made. It is one of those plants which do not 
grow in the ground by a root of their own, but 
fix themselves upon other plants, whence they 



4 


Eyes and No Eyes. 

have been humorously styled parasitical, as being 
hangers-on or dependants. It was the mistletoe 
of the oak that the Druids particularly honored.” 

William. “ A little farther on I saw a green 
woodpecker fly to a tree and run up the trunk 
like a cat.” 



Mr. a. “ That was to seek for insects in the 
bark, on which they live. They bore holes with 
their strong bills for that purpose, and do much 
damage to the trees by it.” 

William. “ What beautiful birds they are! ” 
Mr. A. “Yes; they have been called, from 
their color and size, the English parrot.” 


Eyes and No Eyes. 


5 


William. “When I got upon the open heath, 
how charming it was ! The air seemed so fresh, 
and the prospect on every side so free and 
unbounded ! Then it was all covered with gay 
flowers, many of which I had never observed 
before. There were at least three kinds of heath 
(I have got them in my handkerchief here), and 
gorse, and broom, and bell-flower, and many 
others of all colors, that I will beg you presently 
to tell me the names of.” 

Mr. a. “ That I will readily.” 



Wheatear. 


William. •“ I saw, too, several birds that were 
new to me. There was a pretty grayish one, of 
the size of a lark, that was hopping about some 
great stones ; and when he flew he showed a 
great deal of white above his tail.” 

Mr. a. “ That was a wheatear. They are 


6 


Eyes and No Eyes. 

reckoned very delicious birds to eat, and frequent 
the open downs in Sussex, and some other coun- 
ties, in great numbers.” 

William^ “ There was a flock of lapwings upon 
a marshy part of the heath that amused me much. 
As I came near them, some of them kept flying 
round and round just over my head, and crying 
‘pewit’ so distinctly one might fancy they almost 
spoke. I thought I should have caught one of 
them, for he flew as if one of his wings was broken. 



Lapwing. 


and often tumbled close to the ground ; but, as I 
came near, he always made a shift to get away.” 

Mr. a. “ Ha, ha ! you were finely taken in, 
then ! This was all an artifice of the bird’s to 
entice you away from its nest; for they build upon 
the bare ground, and their nests would easily be 
observed, did they not draw off the attention of 
intruders by their loud cries and counterfeit 
lameness.” 


7 


Eyes and No Eyes. 

William. “I wish I had known that, for he 
led me a long chase, often over shoes in water. 
However, it was the cause of my falling in with an 
old man and a boy who were cutting and piling 
up turf for fuel, and I had a good deal of talk 
with them about the manner of preparing the 



turf, and the price at which it sells. They gave 
me, too, a creature I never saw before, — a young 
viper which they had just killed, together with its 
dam. I have seen several common snakes, but 
this is thicker in proportion and of a darker color 
than they are.” 

Mr. a. “ True, vipers frequent those turfy, 



Remains of a Roman Camp at Silchester, England. 



Plan of a Roman Camp at Ambresbury Banks, Epping Forest, 

England. 

From the Transactions of the Essex Field Club. 


Eyes and No Eyes. 9 

boggy grounds and I have known several turf- 
cutters bitten by them.” 

William. “ They are very venomous, are they 
not ? ” 

Mr. a. “ Enough so to make their wounds 
painful and dangerous, though they seldom prove 
fatal.” 

William. “Well, I then took my course up to 
the windmill on the mount. I climbed up the 
steps of the mill in order to get a better view of 
the country round. What an extensive prospect ! 
I counted fifteen church steeples, and I saw sev- 
eral gentlemen’s houses peeping out from the 
midst of green woods and plantations ; and I 
could trace the windings of the river all along the 
low grounds, till it was lost behind a ridge of hills. 
But ril tell you what I mean to do, sir, if you will 
give me leave.” 

Mr. a. “ What is that ? ” 

William. “ I will go again, and take with me 
Carey’s country map, by which I shall probably 
be able to make out most of the places.” 

Mr. a. “You shall have it, and I will go with 
you, and take my pocket spying-glass.” 

William. “ I shall be very glad of that. Well, 
a thought struck me, that as the hill is called 
Camp Mount, there might probably be some 
remains of ditches and mounds with which I 
have read that camps were surrounded. And I 



“ It was a Large Water-rat 


»» 


Page II 



Eyes and No Eyes. 1 1 

really believe I discovered something of that sort 
running round one side of the mount.” 

Mr. A. “Very likely you might. I know 
antiquaries have described such remains as exist- 
ing there, which some suppose to be Roman, 
others Danish. We will examine them further 
when we go.” 

William. “ From the hill I went straight 
down to the meadows below, and walked on the 
side of a brook that runs into the river. It 
was all bordered with reeds and flags and tall 
flowering plants, quite different from those I had 
seen on the heath. As I was getting down the 
bank to reach one of them, I heard something 
plunge into the water near me. It was a large 
water-rat, and I saw it swim over to the other 
side, and go into its hole. There were a great 
many large dragon-flies all about the stream. I 
caught one of the finest, and have him here in a 
leaf. But how I longed to catch a bird that I saw 
hovering over the water, and every now and then 
darting down into it ! It was all over a mixture 
of the most beautiful green and blue, with some 
orange color. It was somewhat less than a thrush, 
and had a large head and bill, and a short tail.” 

Mr. a. “ I can tell you what that bird was — a 
kingfisher, the celebrated halcyon of the ancients. 

Halcyon : the halcyon was said to lay her eggs in a nest built on the 
sea during calm weather. Hence, halcyon days, — “ days of repose.” 


I 2 Eyes and No Eyes. 

about which so many tales are told. It lives on 
fish, which it catches in the manner you saw. It 
builds in holes in the banks, and is a shy, retired 
bird, never to be seen 
far from the stream 
where it lives.” 

William. “ I must 
try to get another sight 
at him, for I never saw 
a bird that pleased me 
so much. Well, I fol- 
lowed this little brook 
till it entered the river, 
and then took the path 
that runs along the 
bank. On the opposite 
side I observed several 
little birds running 
along the shore, and 
making a piping noise. 
They were brown and 
white, and about as big as a snipe.” 

Mr. a. “ I suppose they were sand-pipers, one 
of the numerous family of birds that get their liv- 
ing by wading among the shallows, and picking 
up worms and insects.” 

William. “ There were a great many swallows, 
too, sporting upon the surface of the water, that 
entertained me with their motions. Sometimes 



13 


Eyes and No Eyes. 

they dashed into the stream ; sometimes they 
pursued one another so quick, that the eye could 
scarcely follow them. In one place, where a high, 
steep sandbank rose directly above the river, I 
observed many of them go in and out of holes 
with which the bank was bored full.” 



Mr. a. “ Those were sand-martins, the small- 
est of our species of swallows. They are of a 
mouse-color above, and white beneath. They 
make their nests and bring up their young in 
these holes, which run a great depth, and by their 
situation are secure from all plunderers.” 

William. “ A little farther on I saw a man in 


14 Eyes and No Eyes. 


a boat, who was catching eels in an odd way. 
He had a long pole with broad iron prongs at the 
end, just like Neptune’s trident, only there were 



five instead of three. This he pushed straight 
down among the mud in the deepest parts of the 
river, and fetched up the eels sticking between 
the prongs.” 

Mr. a. “ I have seen this method : it is called 
the spearing of eels.” 

William. “ While I was looking at him a heron 
came flying over my head, with his large flapping 
wings. He lit at the next turn of the river, and I 
crept softly behind the bank to watch his motions. 
He had waded into the water as far as his long 



Neptune : the god of the sea, always represented with the trident or 
three-pronged fork, anciently used by fishermen. 


Eyes and No Eyes. 


15 


legs would carry him, and 
was standing with his 
neck drawn in, looking 
intently on the stream. 
Presently he darted his 
long bill as quick as 
lightning into the water, 
and drew out a fish, 
which he swallowed. I 
saw him catch another in 
the same mariner. He 
then took alarm at some 
noise I made, and flew 
away slowly to a wood at 
some distance, where he 
alighted.” 

Mr. a. “ Probably his 
nest was there, for herons 
build upon the loftiest 
trees they can find, and 
sometimes in society to- 
gether, like rooks. For- 
merly, when these birds 
were valued for the 
amusement of hawking, 
many gentlemen had their 
heronries, and a few are 
still remaining.” 



Hawking : catching birds by means of trained hawks. 


Eyes and No Eyes. 


i6 

William. “ I think they are the largest wild 
birds we have.” 

Mr. a. “They are of a great length and spread 
of wing, but their bodies are comparatively small.” 



Heron. 


William. “ I then turned homeward across the 
meadows, where I stopped awhile to look at a 
large flock of starlings, which kept flying about 
at no great distance. I could not tell at first 
what to make of them, for they rose all together 
from the ground as thick as a swarm of bees, and 


Eyes and No Eyes. 


17 


formed themselves into a kind of black cloud, 
hovering over the field. After taking a short 
round they settled again, and presently rose once 
more in the same manner. I dare say there were 
hundreds of them.” 

Mr. a. “Perhaps so; for in the fenny coun- 



Starling. 


tries their flocks are so numerous that they break 
down whole acres of reeds by settling on them. 
This disposition of starlings to fly in close swarms 
was observed even by Homer, who compares the 
foe flying from one of his heroes to a cloud of 
starlings retiring dismayed at the approach of the 
hawk.” 

William. “ After I had left the meadows, I 
crossed the corn-fields on the way to our house. 


Eyes and No Eyes. 



and passed close by a deep marl-pit. Looking into 
it I saw in one of the sides a cluster of what I 
took to be shells, and, upon going 
down, I picked up a clod of marl, 
which was quite full of them ; 
but how sea-shells could get 
there, I cannot imagine.” 

Mr. a. “ I do not wonder at 
your surprise, since many philosophers have been 
much perplexed to account for the same appear- 
ance. It is not uncommon to find great quanti- 
ties of shells and relics of marine animals even 
in the bowels of high mountains, very remote 
from the sea. They are certainly proofs that the 
earth was once in a very different state from what 
it is at present. When you study geology you 
will know more on this subject.” 

William. “I got to the high field next our 
house, just as the sun was setting, and I stood 
looking at it till it was quite lost. What a glori- 
ous sight ! The clouds were tinged with purple 
and crimson and yellow of all shades and hues, 
and the clear sky varied from blue to a fine green 
at the horizon. But how large the sun appears 
just as it sets ! I think it seems twice as big as 
when it is overhead.” 

Mr. a. “ It does so ; and you may probably 
have observed the same apparent enlargement of 
the moon at its rising.” 


Eyes and No Eyes. 19 

William. “ I have; but pray what is the reason 
of this?” 

Mr. a. “ It is an optical deception, depending 
upon principles which I cannot well explain to 
you till you know more of that branch of science. 
But what a number of new ideas this afternoon’s 
walk has afforded you ! I do not wonder that 
you found it amusing ; it has been v^ry instruc- 
tive, too. Did you see nothing of all these 
sights, Robert ? ” 

Robert. “ I saw some of them, but I did not 
take particular notice of them.” 

Mr. A. “Why not?” 

Robert. “ I don’t know. I did not care about 
them, and I made the best of my way home.” 

Mr. a. “That would have been right if you 
had been sent with a message ; but as you only 
walked for amusement, it would have been wiser 
to have sought out as many sources of it as 
possible. But so it is one person walks through 
the world with his eyes open, and another with 
them shut ; and upon this difference depends all 
the superiority of knowledge the one acquires 
above the other. I have known sailors who had 
been in all the quarters of the world, and could 
tell you nothing but the signs of the tippling- 
houses they frequented in the different ports, 
and the price and quality of the liquor. On 
the other hand, a Franklin could not cross the 


20 


Eyes and No Eyes. 

Channel, without making some observations useful 
to mankind. While many a vacant, thoughtless 
youth is whirled throughout Europe without gain- 
ing a single idea worth crossing a street for, the 
observing eye and inquiring mind find matter of 
improvement and delight in every ramble in town 
or country. Do you, then, William, continue to 
make use of your eyes ; and you, Robert, learn 
that eyes were given you to use.” 

The English Channel : the shortest sea trip by which it is possible 
to leave England. It divides that country from France. 



0 


The Three Giants at Work 



THE 

THREE GIANTS. 

Once upon a time, a 
poor man who had a large 
family left England to go 
and see if he could find a 
better living for himself 
across the seas. There 
were many others on 
board the ship, and for a 
time all went well ; but 
when they were nearing 
the end of their journey, 
a great storm arose. The 
winds blew, the waves rose 
and roared, and broke up- 
on the ship ; and at last 
they were very glad to 
be able to let her drift 
aground on the nearest 
land, which they found to 
be an island on which no 
one was living. 

They all got safely to 
shore ; and as the ship 
was broken up by the 



22 


The Three Giants. 


23 


wind and the waves, they were able to get many 
planks, and nails, and other useful things from 
the ship, and from its cargo, with which they 
built themselves houses, made spades and ploughs, 
so that they were not so badly off after all. 
They had plenty of corn to last them until they 
could grow some more, and for a time all went 
well. But after they had got a good crop of 
corn, they had to grind it into flour, and this 
took a long time. There were no flour-mills on 
the island, and John Jobson — for that was the^ 
name of the laboring man — had to spend hours 
every day grinding the grain into flour for his 
wife and family to eat. 

One day, after he had been grinding until his 
back ached and his arms were very tired, he 
began to be in despair. If it took him so much 
time grinding his grain, he would have no time 
left to look after the little farm which he had laid 
out. His little boys, although they had great 
appetites and ate as much bread as their mother 
could make out of the flour which their father 
ground between the two millstones, were not 
strong enough to help him. All the other set- 
tlers were just in the same position. They had 
no machines to do any work for them. Every- 
thing had to be done with their hands. There 
were no people to hire as servants; and if there 
had been, they could not have paid them any 


24 


The Three Giants, 


wages, for they were poor and had no money. So 
Jobson became very down-hearted, and not know- 
ing what to do, thought he would take a stroll in 
the country and think over things. 

He climbed up some rising ground, and walked 
a long way among the hills, wondering what on 
earth he should do if he could get no help. He 
was going up a little valley, which turned sud- 
denly, and there to his great astonishment he saw 
a monstrous Giant. He was terribly scared, and 
would have run away as hard as he possibly could, 
but on taking a second look at the giant he saw 
that he was asleep. Jobson looked again, and 
wondered at the immense size of the giant. He 
could hardly see to the end of him, and he saw 
that he was enormously strong ; yet he looked so 
harmless and good-humored, that Jobson stood 
gazing on him till his fear was nearly over. He 
was clad in a robe of dazzling brightness where 
the sun shone upon it, but the greater part was 
shaded by the trees ; and it reflected all their 
different colors, which made it look like a green 
changing silk. As Jobson stood, lost in amaze- 
ment, the giant opened his eyes, and turned 
towards him with a good-humored smile. 

As soon as Jobson saw him open his eyes he 
started to run again, feeling sure that he could 
have no chance if so huge a giant were to catch 
him ; but as he ran the giant spoke. He was still 


The Three Giants. 


25 

lying down on his back in the grass, and his voice 
was gentle and kind. 

“ Do not be afraid,” he said. “ I will do you 
no harm.” 

“ But you are so big,” said Jobson, looking 
timidly at the giant, and making ready to run the 
moment the giant stirred. 

But the giant did not stir. He said, “ Yes, I 
am very strong and very big, but I will do you no 
harm.” 

As he still lay and smiled kindly, Jobson came 
nearer to him, and at last all fear began to leave 
him. Then he asked the giant who he was. 

“ My name,” said the giant, “ is Aquafluens.” 

“ And where do you live ? ” said Jobson. 

“ I live in the island. I have always lived here, 
long before you came.” 

“Then does it belong to you ” said Jobson, 
fearing that the giant might treat him as a tres- 
passer. 

“ I do not know,” said the giant “ What does 
‘ belong ’ mean ? ” 

Jobson thought it was a queer question, but 
said nothing. Then Jobson began to think 
whether it might be possible to get this good- 
natured giant, who seemed so strong, to help him 
in his work. “ Do you ever work ? ” he said to 
the giant. 

“ Oh yes,” said he ; “I can work if you will set 


26 


The Three Giants. 


me work to do. I like it. All work is play to 
me. ” 

Then Jobson’s heart was glad within him, and 
he thought to himself, “ Here is one who could 
grind all my corn with his little finger, but dare I 
ask him ? ” So he thought for a time, and then he 
said, “You said you would work for any one ? ” 

“Yes,” said Aquafluens, gently, “for any one 
who will teach me to work.” 

“Then,” said Jobson, “would you work for 
me ? ” 

“Yes,” said the giant; “if you will teach me.” 

“ But what wages must I pay you ? ” asked 
Jobson. 

Then the giant laughed, and said, “ What queer 
words you use. You say ‘ belong.’ What does 
‘belong’ mean I do not know. You say 
‘ wages.’ What are ‘ wages ’ ? I have never 
heard of them.” 

At this Jobson thought the giant must be mad, 
and he was a little afraid ; then again he thought 
to himself, “ Perhaps he is not mad, but only 
weak in his head. Giants, they say, are often not 
very wise.” So he tried to explain. “ What shall 
I give you if you work for me ? ” 

“Give me.^” said the giant; “what a joke! 
You need give me nothing, I will work for you 
for love.” 

Then Jobson could hardly believe his ears, but 


The Three Giants. 


27 


he thought he would go home at once and tell 
his wife the good news, that he had got a great, 
strong giant who would work for him for 
nothing. 

“ Where are you going ? ” said the giant. 

“ I am going home to tell my wife.” 

“ Had you not better let me carry you ? ” said 
the giant. 

Then Jobson was frightened in his heart. 
“ Perhaps if I say yes the giant will swallow me 
alive.” But he did not tell him so. 

“ How can you carry me.^ ” said he. 

“ I can carry you any way you like,” said the 
giant, “ so long as the road goes down hill.” 

“ Oh, it is down hill all the way ! ” said Jobson. 

“ Then,” said he, “ you must get upon my back, 
and I will carry you there as quick as you like.” 

Jobson was afraid, for when he came to look at 
the giant’s back, and put his hand upon it, it sank 
right in ; then he saw that the skin was so soft 
that, when you pressed upon it, it gave way under 
your hand, or your foot, and you seemed to sink 
right into the giant’s back. So Jobson was terri- 
fied, and screamed as he pulled his hand out of 
the hole that he had made in the giant ; but to 
his surprise the hole closed up, just as if he had 
never thrust his hand in. But his hand was wet 
with the giant’s blood. It was such queer blood; 
it was quite cold, and it had no color. 


The Three Giants. 


Then the giant said, “ That will never do, for 
you are so small and so heavy for your little size, 
that you would sink into me if you tried to sit on 
my back.” 

“ But what can I do.f^” said Jobson. The giant 
took a tree-trunk which was lying close at hand, 
and put it on his shoulder. “ Now,” said he, “ jump 
onto this trunk, and I will carry you safely.” 

Jobson was very frightened when he sat on the 
log, for he thought nothing would be more likely 
than for the log and himself to sink out of sight 
in the giant’s body, but he soon found that 
although the log sank in a little way, it did not 
sink in far enough for him to touch the giant’s 



The Three Giants. 


29 


body with his feet. He was very glad, for he felt 
all wet and cold where his arm seemed to have 
gone through the giant’s skin. “ You had better 
have a pole with you to steady yourself with.” 
Jobson picked up a long stick, and climbed up 
once more onto the giant’s shoulders, where the 
great log lay; he seated himself, and waited with 
terror for the giant’s movement. He thought 
that if he had seven-league boots he might throw 
him up into the air. He would fall off, he was 
sure ; but, to his great surprise, the giant neither 
jumped, nor stepped, nor ran ; he seemed in the 
strangest way to glide, without making any noise, 
down the valley, across the hill to the place where 
his cottage stood. When they came within sight 
of the cottage his wife and children were stand- 
ing on a little hillock looking for him, and when 
they saw him seated on the shoulders of this 
strange monster they nearly had a fit with fright. 
The children ran into the house, and the wife fell 
at the feet of the great giant, saying, “ Have 
mercy on my poor husband ! ” But the giant 
laughed and lay down on the grass: then Jobson 
jumped off the trunk and told his wife of the 
glad news, that this was a good giant, and that 
he would do all their work for them. The chil- 
dren came out of the house and looked timidly at 
the monster, who, as soon as he had laid down, 
closed his eyes and seemed to be sound asleep. 


30 


The Three Giants. 


Jobson went into the house to tell his wife all 
of the wonderful story of the giant, but his wife 
did not seem to like the idea of employing the 
giant. 

“ But he will work for nothing, wife,” said Job- 
son. 

The wife shook her head. “ That is all very 
well,” she said ; “ but think of the food he will eat. 
He would swallow all the food we have in the 
house for breakfast, and we should starve.” 

The husband scratched his head, and said he 
had never thought of that. “ But,” he said, “ let 
us go and ask him how much food we must give 
him.” 

“ And what drink he will want, and where will 
you put him up ? ” said the wife. 

Jobson began to believe that his workman was 
not such a good bargain after all. 

So when they drew near to the giant, he opened 
his eyes and asked what was the matter. 

Jobson said they were afraid they would not be 
able to put him up in their house, as he was too 
big to enter at the door. 

“ Oh,” said the giant, “ that does not matter, for 
I never live in a house. I will simply sleep here 
in the grass under the sky.” 

“ But,” said Jobson, “ we are afraid that we shall 
not be able to feed you.” 

“ Feed me ? ” said the giant, laughing, with a 


The Three Giants. 


31 


little ripply murmur that shook all his body. 
“ Who asked you for any food ? I never eat 
anything.” 

Then Jobson’s wife was frightened, and said she 
was afraid that there must be something uncanny 
about him. But Jobson went on asking: — 

“ What do you drink ? ” said he. 

“ Only fresh water,” said the giant. 

Jobson was very pleased, and looking in tri- 
umph at his wife, said to him: — 

“ And how much work can you do in a day ? ” 

“ As much as you like,” said the giant. 

“ But I mean,” said he, “ how many hours will 
you work ? ” 

“ As many hours as there are on the face of the 
clock,” said the giant. 

“ You mean twelve,” said the wife. 

“ No,” said the giant. “ I mean all the hours 
that are in a day.” 

“What!” said Jobson, “never stop night or 
day ? And do you never sleep ? ” 

“ When I have nothing to do,” said the giant, 
“ I sleep, but as long as you give me work I will 
go on working.” 

“ But do you never get tired } ” said Jobson. 

“ Tired ! ” said the giant, “ I don’t know what 
that is. That is another funny word. What a 
queer language you speak. What is being tired ? ” 

Then Jobsoa looked at his wife and his wife 


32 


The Three Giants. 


looked at him, and they said nothing for a little 
time. Then they asked him when he was ready 
to begin. 

“ At once,” he said; “as soon as you have put 
things right for me.” 

“ What things ? ” said they. 

“ I told you I can only work going down hill. 
If you want me to work hard you must let me 
have some place that is very steep, and make a 
step ladder for me to go down on. If you will fix 
a wheel with steps on it, so that I can step on the 
steps and make the wheel go round, I can do any- 
thing you like.” 

“ Could you grind corn ? ” said Jobson’s wife. 

“ I can grind stones,” said the giant, laughing. 

So Jobson and his wife set about building a 
mill with a step wheel for the giant. They con- 
nected a big wheel for the giant to step upon with 
grindstones on the inside of the mill, so when the 
giant stepped upon the wheel outside, he made the 
millstones inside go round and round and grind 
the wheat. When it was all finished they came to 
the giant and asked him if he was ready to begin. 

“ Yes,” he said. 

“ Begin then,” said Jobson. 

And the giant slowly and steadily stepped first 
on one step of the wheel and then on another 
until it began to go round and round, and the 
millstones went round and round, and so it went 


The Three Giants. 


33 


on until the whole of a sack of corn was ground 
into flour, and still the giant went on, and on, and 
on. 

“ Are you not tired ? ” said Jobson to him. 

“ I don’t know what you mean,” said he. 

“Well, now,” said Jobson, “do you think you 
could get me some stones from the quarry ? ” 

“ Easily,” said the giant. “ But what have I to 
carry them in ? ” 

Then Jobson made a long box and put it upon 
the giant’s back ; but he found that it was not so 
easy going, for the road was quite flat, and over 
and over again the giant stopped. He could go 
very well down hill, but on level ground he needed 
to be poked along with a long pole which Jobson 
carried. When it came to the least down hill, he 
went as quick as could be. This bothered Job- 
son a great deal, for he saw that if the giant could 
only go down hill, he could not be nearly so use- 
ful as if he could go both ways. So he spoke 
about it to the giant once, and he laughed and 
said : “ Hum ! you must get my brother, he could 
help me to go as quick along the level ground as 
I do when I am going down hill; but even he 
could not make me go up hill. Is there not 
plenty of work I can do without that ? ” 

“ Certainly,” said Jobson ; and soon he had the 
giant set to work to make all kinds of things. 

When he had ground all the corn, they took 



Aquafluens 




The Three Giants. 


35 


away the millstones and fixed up a saw which 
had come ashore from the wreck. They found 
that the giant could saw wood as well as he could 
grind corn. They asked him if he would bring 
down the trees from the hills, with which they 
could make planks to floor their cottage. 

“ Nothing is easier,” said the giant ; and when 
the logs came down, he sawed them all up into 
planks, and soon the Jobsons were so comfort- 
able that they not only had enough planks for 
themselves, but they had more than they wanted, 
so they gave them to the neighbors. Every one 
was very anxious to find out if there were any 
more giants in the island, because they could 
see that Giant Aquafluens was more useful than 
twenty men. He never ate, he never slept, he 
only drank cold water, and day and night he 
would go on working as regularly as if he were 
a machine. Only, when the sun got very hot, 
and he could not get any water to drink, his 
strength seemed to wither away, but a good 
heavy shower of rain set him up in time, and 
then he would work away as hard as ever. 

One day Jobson asked him where this brother 
of his could be found. “You will find him 
usually on the hilltops,” said Aquafluens; “but 
occasionally he comes sweeping down, and dis- 
turbs me in the grass where I am lying.” 

“ Can he do as much work as you.f^ ” 


36 


The Three Giants. 



“ When he is in the 
humor, but sometimes he 
is not ; and sometimes 
he gets into a frightful 
temper, until you think 
he is going to destroy 
everything. He even gets 
me mad sometimes,” said 
Aquafluens. 

At this Jobson was 
silent, and wondered 
greatly, for he had never 
seen his good giant in a 
passion. He told all this 
to a neighbor called Jack-, 
son, who was very anxious 
to have a giant of his 
own ; and no sooner did 
he hear that the stormy- 
tempered brother of 
Aquafluens lived on the 
hilltops, than he went out 
into the mountains to 
see if he could find him. 

At length, one day, 
Jackson, climbing a high 
rock, saw a magnificent 
figure seated upon the 
summit. He could 


The Three Giants. 


37 


scarcely distinguish the shape for his eyes were 
dazzled by its brightness ; but what struck him 
most were two enormous wings, as large as the 
sails of a ship, but thin and transparent as the 
wings of a gnat. Jackson doubted not but that 
this was the brother of Aquafluens. Alarmed 
at the account he had heard of the uncertainty of 
his temper, he hesitated whether to approach. 
The hope of gain, however, tempted him, and as 
he drew nearer he observed that he also had a 
smiling countenance. So mustering up courage 
he ventured to accost him, and inquire whether 
he was the person they had so long been in 
search of, and whether he would engage in his 
service. 

“ My name is Ventosus,” cried the winged 
giant, “ and I am ready to work for you, if you 
will let me have my own way. I am not of the 
low disposition of my brother, who plods on with 
the same uniform pace. I cannot help sometimes 
laughing at his slow motion, and I amuse myself 
with ruffling his placid temper, in order to make 
him jog on a little faster. I frequently lend him 
a helping hand when he is laden with a heavy 
burden. I perch upon his bosom, and stretch- 
ing out my wings I move with such rapidity as 
almost to lift him from the ground.” 

Jackson was astonished to hear Aquafluens 
accused of sluggishness; he told Ventosus what 


The Three Giants. 


38 

a prodigious quantity of work he had done for 
the colony. 

“He is a snail compared to me, for all that,” 
holloed out Ventosus, who had sometimes a very 
loud voice; and to show his rapidity he spread 
his wings, and was out of sight in a moment. 

Jackson was sadly frightened, lest he should 
be gone forever; but he soon returned, and 
consented to accompany Jackson home, on con- 
dition that he would settle him in an elevated 
spot of ground. 

“ My house is built on the brow of a hill,” said 
Jackson, “and I shall place yours on the sum- 
mit.” 

“ Well,” said the giant, “ if you will get me a 
couple of millstones, I will grind you as much 
corn in one hour as Aquafluens can in two. 
Like my brother, I work without food or wages ; 
but then I have an independent spirit, I cannot 
bear confinement; I work only when I have a 
mind to it, and I follow no will but my own.” 

“ This is not such a tractable giant as Aqua- 
fluens,” thought Jackson ; “ but he is still more 
powerful, so I must try to manage his temper as 
well as I can.” 

His wonderful form and the lightness of his 
wings excited great admiration. Jackson imme- 
diately set about building a house for him on the 
hill to grind corn in, and meanwhile, Ventosus 


The Three Giants. 


39 


took a flight into the valley to see his brother. 
He found him carrying a heavy load of planks, 
which he had lately sawed, to their proprietor. 
They embraced each other, and Ventosus, being 
in a good humor, said, “ Come, brother, let me 
help you forward with your load, you will never 
get on at this lazy pace.” 

“ Lazy pace ! ” exclaimed one of the children, 
who was seated on the load of wood on the giant’s 
back ; “ why, there is no man who can walk half 
or quarter so fast.” 

“True,” replied Ventosus* “but we are not 
such pygmies as you.” 

So he seated himself beside the child, stretched 
out his wings, and off they flew with a rapidity 
which at first terrified the boy ; but when he 
found he was quite safe, he was delighted to sail 
through the air almost as quickly as a bird flies. 
When they arrived, and the wood had been 
unloaded, Aquafluens said, “ Now, brother, you 
may help me back again.” 

“Not I,” said Ventosus; “I am going on, 
straight forward. If you choose to go along with 
me, well and good ; if not, you may make your 
way home as you please.” 

Aquafluens thought this very unkind, and he 
began to argue with his brother; but this only 
led to a dispute. Aquafluens’ temper was at 
length ruffled; Ventosus flew into a passion : he 


40 


The Three Giants. 


struggled with his brother, and roared louder 
than any wild beast. Aquafluens then lost all 
self-command, and actually foamed with rage. 
The poor child stood at a distance, trembling 
with fear. He hardly knew the face of his old 
friend, so much was his countenance distorted by 
wrath; he looked as if he could almost have 
swallowed him up. At length, Ventosus disen- 
gaged himself from his brother, and flew out of 
his sight; but his sighs and moans were still 
heard afar off. Aquafluens also murmured loudly 
at the ill-treatment he had received ; but he com- 
posed himself by degrees, and, taking the boy on 
his back, slowly returned home. 

Jackson inquired eagerly after Ventosus, and 
when the child told him all that had happened, 
he was much alarmed for fear Ventosus should 
never return ; and he was the more disappointed, 
as he had prepared everything for him to go to 
work. Ventosus, however, came back in the 
night, and when Jackson went to set him to work 
in the morning, he found that nearly half the 
corn was already ground. This was a wonder- 
ful performance. Yet, upon the whole, Ventosus 
did not prove of such use to the colony as his 
brother. He would carry with astonishing quick- 
ness ; but then he would always carry his own 
way; so that it was necessary to know what 
direction he intended to take, before you could 



Ventosus, 



42 


The Three Giants. 


confide any goods to his charge ; and then, when 
you thought them sure to arrive on account of 
the rapidity with which they were conveyed, 
Ventosus would sometimes suddenly change his 
mind, and veer about with the fickleness of a 
weathercock ; so that the goods, instead of reach- 
ing their place of destination, were carried to 
some other place or brought to the spot whence 
they set out. This inconvenience could not hap- 
pen with regard to grinding corn ; but one of 
no less importance often did occur. Ventosus, 
when not inclined to work, disappeared, and was 
nowhere to be found. 

The benefit derived from the labor of these 
two giants had so much improved the state of 
the colony that not only were the cottages well 
floored, and had good doors and window-shutters, 
but there was abundance of comfortable furniture 
— bedsteads, tables, chairs, chests, and cupboards, 
as many as could be wished ; and the men and 
women, now that they were relieved from the 
most laborious work, could employ themselves in 
making a number of things which before they had 
not time for. It was no wonder, therefore, that 
the desire to discover more giants was uppermost 
in men’s minds. 

They were always asking Aquafluens about 
where they could find another giant, for he was 
ever with them and never flew away, so they could 


The Three Giants. 


43 


always ask questions; while Ventosus used to fly 
away and disappear if they bothered him with 
questions which he did not like to answer. 

They hunted high and low for more giants, but 
they found none. The heart of Aquafluens was 
grieved within him, that they should seek so much 
for a giant that did not need always to go down 
hill. So one day, after much doubt, he told Job- 
son that there was another giant who was stronger 
than he, and much more constant and regular in 
his work than Ventosus, who was here to-day and 
away to-morrow, and whom you could never be 
sure of. This giant was the strongest of all 
giants, but he was also dangerous. 

“ I will then have nothing to do with him,” 
said Jobson. 

“ Well,” said Aquafluens, “if you know how to 
manage him he will work for you.” 

“ Can he go up hill ? ” said his little boy. 

“ As easily as I can go down,” said Aquafluens. 

“ And who is this giant ? ” said Jobson. 

“ Alas,” said Aquafluens, mournfully, “ he is my 
own son.” 

“ Where is he ? ” 

“You can only bring him by a charm, and if 
you are not very careful, he may burst out and 
kill you.” 

“ Is he so very violent? ” said Jobson. 

“ Very. His breath is scalding hot, and he is 


44 


The Three Giants. 


a more expensive giant than either my brother or 
myself.” 

“ Must you pay him, then ? ” said Jobson’s wife. 

“ He will work without pay, but he needs to be 
kept hot. He will not work at all unless he is 
seated right on the top of blazing coals.” 

“ What a funny giant ! ” said Jobson’s little boy. 
“ Does he not burn up 

“ No, the hotter you make the fire the stronger 
he grows, but when the fire grows cold, all his 
strength seems to die.” 

The Jobsons had a long talk over this, and 
decided that they had better not have anything 
to do with this strange giant. But once, when 
they wanted a great deal of heavy stones carried 
up the hill, they were driven to ask Aquafluens 
if he would tell them the charm. 

“Yes,” said he; “it is very simple, but you 
must not be afraid.” 

“ No,” said they, “we will not be afraid.” 

“ Then take a little of my blood.” 

“ Never! ” said Jobson’s wife. 

“ No, you do not need to be afraid,” said Aqua- 
fluens ; “ you only need to take a very little.” 

“ And what must we do with it ? ” 

“You must put it into an iron pot, and then 
put it on the fire.” 

They were very loth to do this; but at last, 
their need being great, they did so. They were 


The Three Giants. 


45 


relieved to find that the taking of his blood did 
not seem to hurt the good, kind giant, and then 
they put the pot on the fire, and waited to see 
what would happen. After a time, they heard a 
singing noise, and they began to be frightened. 
At last out of the pot there came a cloudy vapor, 
which rose higher and higher and higher, until it 
went away. But they saw no giant. 





So they went to Aquafluens, and told him that 
the charm would not work. He asked them what 
they had done, and they told him, and he said, 
“ But did I not tell you my son would never work 
unless you put him in prison.? I will give you 
some more of my blood, and you must put it in 


The Coming of Vaforifer. 



The Three Giants. 


47 

an iron pot and put the lid on, and fasten it down 
tight, and then see what will happen.” 

So they did as the good giant said. They took 
some more of his blood, put it into the iron pot, 
and put on a heavy lid, and fastened it on tight, 
then they put it on the blazing fire, and waited. 
This time they were terribly frightened, for after 
a time the iron pot burst into a thousand pieces, 
and blew all over the place, hurting Jobson’s wife 
on the head, and cutting Jobson’s hand. So they 
ran away frightened and told Aquafluens. 

“ Ah,” he said, “ I told you my son was a 
dangerous child, but he is very strong, and if you 
give him nothing to do he does mischief. So you 
must give him a handle to turn. If you do that, 
he will not burst anything, but will turn the 
handle as hard as ever you like.” 

And they did just as the giant told them, and 
they found that everything happened just so, for 
the new giant, whose name was Vaporifer, was a 
strong and willing worker. Up hill and down 
dale made no difference to him. He could carry 
and do everything they gave him to, but they 
must keep him hot, and they must give him a 
wheel to turn. If at any time he stopped they 
had to let him get out, otherwise, if he had no 
wheel to turn, and could not get out, he would 
blow his prison to pieces. 

Thus it came to pass that Ventosus was wanted 



Vaporifer at Work 



The Three Giants. 


49 


very little, for Jobson and his friends liked Vapori- 
fer, who was regular and steady in his ways, and 
could be relied upon always to do what was 
wanted. 

Aquafluens was still the most useful and the 
cheapest of all the giants, but his son Vaporifer 
was much stronger and more handy than his 
father. Nor w’'as there any limit to what he 
could do if only they would give him plenty of 
heat and always let him have a wheel to turn. 

Now, then, who do you think were these three 
giants ? Perhaps you have already guessed from 
their names, and from their description. The 
first giant, Aquafluens, is the great giant of run- 
ning water, which will always run down hill, but 
which comes to a standstill on level ground, and 
cannot go up hill, no matter what happens. It is 
this great giant which turned all the water-mills, 
which ground the corn, and sawed the wood, and 
did all manner of work. Ventosus, his brother, 
is the wind which bloweth whither it listeth, and 
sometimes lashes the water into stormy waves. 
While as to that of Vaporifer, you surely under- 
stand that it is nothing else but steam. These 
three giants are real giants who are still doing 
their work day by day, and every day. There are 
no servants of man who have worked so cheaply, 
so untiringly, and so well. 



TRAVELLERS’ WONDERS. 

One winter’s evening, as Captain Compass was 
sitting by the fireside, with his children all around 
him, little Jack said to him, “ Papa, pray tell us ‘ 
some stories about what you have seen in your i 
voyages. I have been vastly entertained, while 
you were abroad, with Gulliver’s Travels, and 
the Adventures of Sinbad, the Sailor, and I | 
think as you have gone round and round the 
world, you must have met with things as wonder- 
ful as they did.” 

“ No, my dear,” said the captain, “ I never met 
with Lilliputians or Brobdingnagians, I assure 
you, nor ever saw the black loadstone mountains* 


50 


Travellers’ Wonders. 


51 


or the valley of diamonds, but, to be sure, I have 
seen a great variety of people, and have noticed 
their different manners and ways of living ; 
and if it will be any entertainment to you, I will 
tell you some curious things that I have ob- 
served.” 

“ Pray do, papa,” cried Jack and all his broth- 
ers and sisters ; so they drew close round him, 
and he began as follows : — 

“ Well, then, I was once, about this time of the 
year, in a country where it was very cold, and the 
inhabitants had much ado to keep themselves 
from starving. They were clad partly in the 
skins of beasts, made smooth and soft by a par- 
ticular art, but chiefly in garments made from the 
outward covering of a middle-sized quadruped 
which they W'ere so cruel as to strip off his back 
when he was alive. They dwelt in habitations 
part of which was sunk underground. The 
materials were either stones or earth hardened 
by Are ; and so violent on that coast were the 
showers of wind and rain that many of the roofs 
were covered all over with stones. The walls of 
their houses had holes to let in light, but to pre- 
vent the cold air and wet from coming in, they 
were covered by a sort of transparent stone made 
artificially of melted sand or flint. As wood was 
rather scarce, I know not what they would have 
done for their fires had they not discovered in 


52 


Travellers’ Wonders. 


the bowels of the earth a very extraordinary kind 
of stone which, when put among burning wood, 
caught fire and flamed like a torch.” 

“ Dear me,” said Jack, “ what a wonderful stone ! 
I suppose it was like the things we call fire-stones, 
that shine so when we rub them together.” 

“ I don’t think they would burn,” replied the 
captain; “ besides, these are of a darker color. 

“Well, — but their diet was remarkable, — some 
of them ate fish that had been hung up in the 
smoke till it was quite dry and hard ; and along 
with it they ate either the roots of plants, ora sort of 
coarse black cake made of powdered seeds. These 
were the poorer class. The richer had a kind of 
cake which they were fond of daubing over with a 
greasy matter, that was the product of a large 
animal which lived among them. This grease 
they used, too, in almost all their dishes, and 
when fresh it really was not unpalatable. They 
likewise devoured the flesh of many birds and 
beasts when they could get it ; and ate the leaves 
and other parts of a number of kinds of vegeta- 
bles growing in the country, some absolutely 
raw, others variously prepared by the aid of fire. 
Another great article of food was the curd of milk, 
pressed into a hard mass and salted. It had so 
rank a smell that often persons of weak stom- 
achs could not bear to come near it. For drink 
they made great use of the water in which cer- 


Travellers’ Wonders. 


53 


I 

I 


I 


tain dry leaves had been steeped. These leaves, 
I was told, came from a great distance. They had 
likewise a method of preparing a liquor of the 
seeds of a grass-like plant steeped in water, with 
the addition of a bitter herb, and then set to work 
or ferment. I was prevailed upon to taste it, and 
thought it at first nauseous enough, but in time 
I liked it pretty well. When a large quantity of 
the mixture is used, it becomes perfectly intoxi- 
cating. But what astonished me most was their 
use of a liquor so excessively hot and pungent 
that it seems like liquid fire. I once got a mouth- 
ful of it by mistake, taking it for water, which it 
resembles in appearance, but I thought it would 
instantly have taken away my breath. Indeed, 
people are not infrequently killed by it ; and yet 
many of them will swallow it greedily, whenever 
they can get it. This, too, is said to be prepared 
from the seeds above mentioned, which are harm- 
less and even valuable in their natural state, 
though made to yield such a pernicious juice. 
The strangest custom that I believe prevails in 
any nation, I found here, which was that some 
take a mighty pleasure in filling their mouths 
full of smoke ; and others in thrusting a nasty 
powder up their nostrils.” 

“ I should think it would choke them,” said 
Jack. 

“ It almost did me,” answered his father. 


54 


Travellers’ Wonders. 


“ only to stand by while they did it — but use, I 
it is truly said, is second nature. 

“ I was glad enough to leave this cold cli- 
mate ; and about half a year after I fell in with i 
a people enjoying a delicious temperature and a ' 
country full of beauty and verdure. The trees 
and shrubs were furnished with a great variety | 
of fruits which, with other vegetable products, 
constituted a large part of the food of the inhabit- 
ants. I particularly relished certain berries grow- 
ing in bunches, some white and some red, of a 
very pleasant sourish taste, and so transparent 
that one might see the seeds at their very centre. 
There were whole fields full of odoriferous flowers, 
which they told me were succeeded by pods bear- 
ing seeds that afforded good nourishment to man 
and beast. A great variety of birds enlivened the 
groves and woods, among which I was greatly 
entertained by one that without any teaching 
spoke almost as articulately as a parrot, though 
it was only the repetition of a single word. The 
people were gentle and civilized, and possessed 
many of the arts of life. Their dress was very 
various. Many were clad only in a thin cloth 
made of the long fibres of the stalk of a plant 
cultivated for the purpose, which they prepared 
by soaking in water and then beating with large 
mallets. Men wore cloth woven from a sort of 
vegetable wool, growing in pods upon bushes. 


Travellers’ Wonders. 


55 


But the most singular material was a fine 
glossy stuff, used chiefly by the richer classes, 
which, as I was credibly informed, is manufactured 
out of the webs of caterpillars — a most wonder- 
ful circumstance, if we consider the immense 
number of caterpillars necessary to the produc- 
tion of so large a quantity of stuff as I saw used. 
The people are very fantastic in their dress, 
especially the women, whose apparel consists of a 
great number of articles impossible to be described, 

• and strangely disguising the form of the body. In 
some instances they seem very cleanly, but in other 
cases the Hottentots can scarce go beyond them, 
particularly in the management of their hair, which 
is all matted and stiffened by the fat of swine and 
other animals mixed up with powders of various 
colors and ingredients. Like most Indian nations, 
they wear feathers in their headdress. One thing 
surprised me much, which was, that they bring 
up in their homes an animal of the tiger kind, with 
formidable teeth and claws, which, notwithstanding 
its natural ferocity, is played with and caressed by 
the most timid and delicate of their women.” 

“ I am sure I would not play with it,” said Jack. 

“ Why, you might get an ugly scratch with it 
if you did,” said the captain. 

“ The language of this nation seems very harsh 
and unintelligible to a foreigner, yet they converse 
with one another with great ease and quickness. 


56 


Travellers’ Wonders. 





One of the oddest customs 
is that which men use on 
saluting each other. Let 
the weather be what it will, 
they uncover their heads 
and remain uncovered for 
some time if they mean to 
be extraordinarily respect- 
ful.” 

“ Why, that’s like pulling 
off our hats,” said Jack. 

“ Ah, ha ! papa,” cried 
Betsy, “ I have found you 
out. You have been telling 
us of our own country, and 
what is done at home, all 
the while.” 

“ But,” said Jack, “ we 
don’t burn stones, or eat 
grease and powdered seeds, 
or wear skins and caterpil- 
lar’s webs, or play with 
tigers.” 

''No? ” said the captain. 
“ Pray, what are coals but 
stones; and is not butter 
grease; and corn, seeds; 
and leather, skins ; and silk, 
the web of a kind of cater- 


Travellers’ Wonders. 


57 


pillar ? and may we not as well call a cat an ani- 
mal of the tiger kind, as a tiger an animal of the 
cat kind ? 

“ So if you recall what I have been describing, 
you will find, with Betsy’s help, that all the other 
wonderful things I have told you of are matters 
familiar among ourselves. But I meant to show 
you that a foreigner might easily represent every- 
thing as equally strange and wonderful among us 
as we could do with respect to his country ; and 
also to make you sensible that we daily call a 
great many things by their names without ever 
inquiring into their nature and properties ; so 
that in reality it is only their manners and not the 
things themselves with which we are acquainted.” 





A Curious Instrument 



A CURIOUS INSTRUMENT. 


A GENTLEMAN, just returned from a journey to 
London, was surrounded by his children eager, 
after the first salutations were over, to hear the 
news ; and still more eager to see the contents of 
a small portmanteau, which were one by one 
carefully unfolded and displayed to view. After 
distributing among them a few small presents, 
the father took his seat again, saying that he 
must confess he had brought from town, for his 
own use, something far more curious and valu- 
able than any of the little gifts they had received. 
It was, he said, too good to present to any of 
them ; but he would, if they pleased, first give 
them a brief description of it, and then perhaps 
they might be allowed to inspect it. 

The children were accordingly all attention, 
while the father thus proceeded : “ This small 
instrument is made in the most perfect and won- 
derful way, and everything about it is very deli- 
cate and beautiful. Because of its extreme deli- 
cacy it is so liable to injury that a sort of light 
curtain, adorned with a beautiful fringe, is always 
provided, and so placed as to fall in a moment on 
the approach of the slightest danger. Its exter- 


59 


6o 


A Curious Instrument. 


nal appearance is always more or less beautiful, 
although in this respect there is a great diversity 
in the different sorts. If you should examine the 
inside you would find them all alike, but it is so 
curious, and its powers so truly astonishing, that 
no one who considers it can suppress his surprise 
and admiration. By a slight and momentary 
movement, which is easily made by the person it 
belongs to, you can ascertain with considerable 
accuracy the size, color, shape, weight, and value 
of any article. whatever. A person having one is 
thus saved from the necessity of asking a thou- 
sand questions, and trying a variety of trouble- 
some experiments, which would otherwise be 
necessary ; and such a slow and laborious pro- 
cess would, after all, not succeed half so well as a 
single trial of this very useful article.” 

George. “ If they are such very useful things I 
wonder that everybody, who can at all afford it, 
does not have one.” 

Father. “ They are not so uncommon as you 
may suppose; I myself happen to know several 
individuals who possess one or two of them.” 

Charles. “ How large is it. Father Could I 
hold it in my hand ? ” 

Father. “ You might ; but I should not like to 
trust mine with you ! ” 

George. “You will be obliged to take very 
great care of it, then ? ” 


A Curious Instrument. 6i 

Father. “ Indeed I must : I intend every night 
to enclose it within the small screen I mentioned; 
and it must besides be washed occasionally in a 
certain colorless fluid kept for the purpose. But, 
notwithstanding the tenderness of this instru- 
ment, you will be surprised to hear that its power 
may be darted to a great distance, without the 
least injury, and without any danger of losing it.” 

Charles. “ Indeed ! and how high can you dart 
it.?” 

Father. “ I should be afraid of telling you to 
what a distance it will reach, lest you should think 
I am jesting with you.” 

George. “ Higher than this house, I suppose.?” 

Father. “ Much higher.” 

Charles. “ Then how do you get it again .? ” 

Father. “ It is easily cast down by a gentle 
movement, that does it no injury.” 

George. “ But who can do this .? ” 

Father. “ The person whose business it is to 
take care of it.” 

Charles. “ Well, I cannot understand you at 
all ; but do tell us. Father, what it is chiefly used 
for.” 

- Father. “ Its uses are so various that I know 
not which to specify. It has been found very ser- 
viceable in deciphering old manuscripts, and, in- 
deed, has its use in modern prints. It will assist 
us greatly in acquiring all kinds of knowledge; 


62 


A Curious Instrument. 


and without it some of the most wonderful things 
in the world would never have been known. It 
must be confessed, however, that very much de- 
pends on a proper application of it, since it is 
possessed by many persons who appear not to 
know what it is worth, but who employ it only 
for the most low and common purposes without 
even thinking, apparently, of the noble uses for 
which it is designed, or of the great joy it is capa- 
ble of affording. It is, indeed, in order to have 
you fully appreciate its value that I am giving 
you this description.” 

George. “Well, then, tell us something more 
about it.” 

Father. “ It is very penetrating, and can often 
discover secrets which could be detected by no 
other means. It must be said, however, that it 
is equally prone to reveal them.” 

Charles. “ What ! can it speak, then ? ” 

Father. “ It is sometimes said to do so, espe- 
cially when it happens to meet with one of its own 
kind.” 

George. “ What color are these strange 
things? ” 

Father. “ They vary considerably in this re- 
spect.” 

George. “ What color is yours ? ” 

Father. “ I believe of a darkish color, but, to 
confess the truth, I never saw it in my life.” 


A Curious Instrument. 63 

Both. “ Never saw it in your life ! ” 

Father. “No, nor do I wish to; but I have 
seen a reflection of it, which is so exact that my 
curiosity is quite satisfied.” 

George. “ But why don’t you look at the thine 
itself 

Father. “ I should be in great danger of losing 
it if I did.” 

Charles. “ Then you could buy another.” 

Father. “ Nay, I believe I could not prevail 
upon my body to part with it.” 

George. “ Then how did you get this one ? ” 

Fx\ther. “ I am so fortunate as to have more 
than one ; but how I got them I really cannot 
recollect.” 

Charles. “Not recollect! why, you said you 
brought them from London to-night.” 

Father. “ So I did ; I should be sorry if I had 
left them behind me.” 

Charles. “ Tell, Father, do tell us the name of 
this curious instrument.” 

Father. “ It is called — an EYE.” 


NOTE. 


The first of these stories is reprinted from the well- 
known “ Evenings at Home, or the Family Budget 
Newly Opened,” by Dr. John Aiken and his sister Mrs. 
Barbauld, which is a survival from a very dreary period 
in the history of books for children. Except lesson 
books, books of manners, morals, and religion, the print- 
ing press had done little for youth until about the middle 
of the eighteenth century, and for long years after that 
no book was thought to be suitable for children’s reading 
unless it contained many pills of information and so- 
called “useful knowledge,” gilded over with more or 
less of fancy and imagination. These books were gen- 
erally of the driest and most uninteresting character, but 
Dr. Aiken and his sister Mrs. Barbauld were among the 
two or three writers who succeeded in making their sto- 
ries more vivid and real, and their men, women, and chil- 
dren seem more like actual living people, than did most 
of their contemporaries. There is a human interest in 
some of their stories which has charmed each successive 
generation of men and women that has come upon the 
scene since they were written, and unless the child-mind 
•changes very much, will continue to do so for many 
generations to come. 

There are many walks in our vast country quite as 
full of interest in sights and sounds as that over Broom 

Dr. Aiken was born in London in 1757, and Mrs. Barbauld in 1743. 
The former died in 1822, and the latter in 1825. 

64 


Heath, “among the green meads by the side of the 
river,” and there are many boys who go through them 
in just the same way as William and Robert took their 
walk. Let our Roberts take a lesson from our Williams, 
and our Williams go on cultivating the habit of observ- 
ing and remembering what they see. 

Professor Archibald Geikie, in his work on the 
“ Teaching of Geography,” page 54, makes the follow- 
ing interesting remarks as to the pedagogical value of 
the story of “ Eyes and No Eyes ” : — 

“ It is worth a thousand educational treatises. Never 
shall I forget the impression it made on me when, as a 
young boy, I first came upon it. Every step of Wil- 
liam’s walk was to me a subject of engrossing interest ; 
I tried myself to make similar observations, and was 
delighted in particular to recognize the movements of a 
lapwing in a succeeding country ramble. To this day, 
such is the permanence of early associations, the swoop 
and scream of that bird overhead brings back to me 
these first impressions of boyhood, and reminds me of 
my lifelong debt to the ‘ Evenings at Home.’ The story 
ought not only to be known to the teacher; he should 
make it thoroughly familiar to his pupils as soon as they 
are of an age to understand and enjoy it. 

“ The contrast between the two boys in this story is 
one which may be found in every schoolroom. Unless 
a teacher actually tries the experiment, he can scarcely 
imagine the extraordinary differences in power of ob- 
servation, not so much between clever and dull pupils, 
for that might be looked for, as among those who are 
bright and forward in the general work of the school. 
Of two clever boys, the one who has the quicker percep- 
tion of things around him is more likely to succeed in 


66 


Note. 


life. But the chances of the other may be vastly im- 
proved by early training. And it is this training, so 
little provided for by the ordinary school work, that the 
teacher should do all in his power to secure.” 

Charles Kingsley says : When we were good, a long 
time ago, we used to have a jolly old book called ‘ Even- 
ings at Home ’ in which was a great story called ‘ Eyes 
and No Eyes,’ and that story was of more use to me 
than any dozen other stories I ever read;” and what 
Oliver Wendell Holmes thought of the story is printed 
at the beginning of the book. 

To turn to the other stories in the book. “ The Three 
Giants” is from “Tales of Political Economy,” by Mrs. 
Marcet (1769-1858), and has long been a favorite with 
children. Slight changes have been made in order to 
simplify it, and to confine the attention solely to the 
leading idea. “ Travellers’ Wonders ” is also from 
“ Evenings at Home,” and in reading it one might 
almost imagine Captain Compass was thinking of a 
visit to the United States when he unfolded his budget 
of wonders to his listening family. “ A Curious Instru- 
ment” is by Jane Taylor (1783-1824), who wrote many 
books for children in conjunction with her sister Ann. 
The sisters are best known, perhaps, by their “ Original 
Poems ” and “ Hymns for Infant Minds.” 



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